April 2014 Archives - Page 2 of 6

A big walking plug can draw strikes from plenty of speckled trout during the spring.

Big gals like it on top

Whether fishing for blue marlin in the Gulf Stream or copperhead bream in a farm pond, few experiences rival the pleasure of a topwater strike. […]

Mitchell Johnson has designed his Dead End turkey calls to do what he does in calling contests: sound like a real turkey.

Whatever you do, sound like they do

Bruce Ingram

Mitchell Johnson, 32, attributes hard work for the success he has experienced in competitions and with his call company, but he also lists another reason. […]

The Intracoastal Waterway in the Bulls Bay area isn’t just a route to get between fishing spots; it can hold plenty of spring trout.

Bulls Bay is a massive, open bay with a mixture of deep and extremely shallow water. Fortunately for anglers and transient mariners, the entire length of the bay is flanked by the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. […]

When gobblers are ganged up early in the season, the bird not doing the aggressive strutting and gobbling is often the dominant bird.

Shoot the lookers

Jeff Burleson

Early in the season, gobblers will often be grouped in pairs or larger groups. Seeing several toms coming into decoys gobbling every step can be one of the most exciting sights of any hunter’s season. […]

Young hunters like Sarah Johnson, who took this bird with her father, Mitchell, get a 6-day season of their own before North Carolina’s month-long spring season comes in.

North Carolina 2014 turkey season details

Bruce Ingram

North Carolina’s statewide spring gobbler season runs from April 12 to May 14. The daily bag limit is one bearded bird, with a season bag limit of two. […]

Hunters have a unique opportunity to take turkeys during rainy weather because their behavior is more predictable and one of their sharpest senses is dulled.

Bad weather, good hunting

Jeff Burleson

For a species with a brain the size of a walnut, wild turkeys are fairly clever at avoiding the talons or the teeth of predators, but their poor sense of smell allows hunters and other predators to take a few turkeys each year. […]

Rigging for deep-hole trout

John Gribb

Most anglers who fish baits or lures under corks or floats think of them as primarily used in relatively shallow water. […]

A school of colorful dolphin suspended behind a boat can wind up in the fish box if fishermen are careful when they pitch baits in their direction.

Small dolphin can bail out a fishing trip

Jason Hawkins

Sometimes, bluewater fishing is so slow that even a novice or child can become bored. Small, aggressive dolphin, aka bailers, can provide just the tonic. […]

Speckled trout, like this one caught by Ralph Davis, are actually members of the drum family; they make drumming noises as the spawn approaches.

Trout talk

John Gribb

Did you know that trout talk?

Speckled trout are not a member of the trout family (salmonidae), but of the drum family (sciaenidae), and they make drumming noises just like red drum and black drum. […]